Laser gas replenishment method

• Main Authors: VOGLER KLAUS WOLFGANG, KLEINSCHMIDT JUERGEN, GOVORKOV SERGEI, ZSCHOCKE WOLFGANG, ALBRECHT HANS-STEPHAN, SCHROEDER THOMAS, STAMM UWE, BERGER VADIM, BRAGIN IGOR
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 04.09.2007
• Subjects: APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CINEMATOGRAPHY; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION; ELECTRICITY; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY; MATERIALS THEREFOR; OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS, OR APPARATUS; OPTICS; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; PHOTOGRAPHY; PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES,e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTORDEVICES; PHYSICS

Output beam parameters of a gas discharge laser are stabilized by maintaining a molecular fluorine component at a predetermined partial pressure using a gas supply unit and a processor. The molecular fluorine is subject to depletion within the discharge chamber. Gas injections including molecular fluorine can increase the partial pressure of molecular fluorine by a selected amount. The injections can be performed at selected intervals to maintain the constituent gas substantially at the initial partial pressure. The amount per injection and/or the interval between injections can be varied, based on factors such as driving voltage and a calculated amount of molecular fluorine in the discharge chamber. The driving voltage can be in one of multiple driving voltage ranges that are adjusted based on system aging. Within each range, gas injections and gas replacements can be performed based on, for example, total applied electrical energy or time/pulse count.